HONG KONG — Reuter Communications has been acquired by Gusto Collective, a new independent holding group led by industry veteran Aaron Lau. 

Reuter, a specialist luxury consultancy founded by Chloe Reuter and Nick Cakebread in 2010, rebrands to Gusto Luxe following the sale of a majority stake. Headquartered in Shanghai, the 120-person firm also has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and London, working for clients across the fashion, beauty, travel and lifestyle industries.

Reuter and Cakebread will remain with the firm, adding group founding partner roles at Gusto Collective. Reuter also becomes vice chair of Gusto Luxe and Gusto Collective.

Based in Hong Kong, the new group is backed by a multi-million dollar investment by Lau, who has led several advertising agencies during his career, including Cheil North America, DDB Greater China and Bravo Asia, which was acquired by Cheil.

“Gusto Collective sits at the intersection of the dramatic growth in the digital and tech
revolution that empowers people to create, produce and share content," said Lau. "The combination of an explosive growth in middle class consumerism, coupled with rapid deployment of technology including the launch of 5G, the maturing of augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies as marketing tools creates a perfect opportunity for the launch of Gusto Collective."

Gusto Collective focuses on branding and tech agencies, and also includes Gusto Media Lab — launched in February 2020 and led by ex-PHD CEO Ray Wong.

"After 10 years building Reuter Communications, it’s a fantastic evolution for our agency," said Reuter. "We believe that the future of our industry lies in its constant evolution and we are convinced that technology’s importance will keep growing."